The city council has approved on first reading a proposed ordinance charging a socialized adoption fee for petitions for the rectification of simulated birth records.
The proposed ordinance is in accordance with Republic Act 1222 entitled “An Act Allowing the Rectification of Simulated Birth Records and Prescribing Administrative Adoption Proceedings for the Purpose.”
Simulation of birth record, according to the DSWD Guidelines on RA 1222, refers to the tampering of the civil registry record to make it appear in the record of birth that a child was born to a person who is not such child’s biological mother, causing the loss of the true identity and status of the child.
The law allows the “rectification of the simulated birth of a child where the simulation was made for the best interest of the child, and that such child has been consistently considered and treated by the person or persons who simulated such birth as her, his, or their own daughter or son.”
Likewise, the law seeks to “fix the status and filiation of a child whose birth was simulated by giving such child all the benefits of adoption and ensuring that the child shall be entitled to all the rights provided by law to legally adopted children, without any discrimination of any kind, as well as to love, guidance, and support from the child’s adoptive family.”
The law further “exempts from criminal, civil, and administrative liability of those who have committed simulated the birth record of a child before its effectivity” and “allows a simpler and less costly administrative adoption proceeding where the child has been living with the person or persons who simulated her or his birth record for at least three years before its effectivity.”
Under the proposed ordinance, P1,000 per petition shall be collected for the rectification of a simulated birth record. Fees of petitioners that have been assessed as indigents by the City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO) shall be waived.
The City Treasury Office shall collect the socialized adoption fees and shall open an adoption trust fund account where payments shall be deposited.
The collected fees shall be used in different foster care and child development programs and activities of the CSWDO.
The proposed ordinance has been referred to the city council’s committee on appropriations and finance cluster B for review. – Jordan G. Habbiling
April 25, 2024
